Roxbury author's Tractor Mac' books delight all

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published
7:00 pm EST, Wednesday, February 16, 2005

In "Tractor Mac Builds a Barn," the talking piece of farm equipment learns that he can do more than just field work. In previous books, Mac has made friends with a horse, learned that tractors can not fly, and learned that he doesn't have to come in first place to be a winner.

Steers
is an American Airlines pilot with a passion for drawing. He said he sees his work as an author as something he does for fun. "I'm glad it's not my bread and butter. I'm glad it can be a hobby," he said.

At a recent appearance at Baileywick Books in New Milford, Steers signed about 150 books in two hours. Next to his signature, he sketched a cartoon animal on each. Most of his drawings were farm animals, but he took requests from the children who came to meet him.

There was a distinct difference between the animals girls ask him to draw and the animals boys ask him to draw. "The guys either want Tractor Mac or a T-Rex," Steers said. "I had one request for a Barbie today, and I dodged that bullet."

Steers draws quickly - each of his sketches next to his signatures took a few seconds. The 24-page books take two to four months to complete. "I'm getting quicker at it as the deadlines get shorter," Steers said. Each full-color page takes a day to paint and a half a day to ink.

Steers said he has been drawing for fun since grade school. "I guess I'm an illustrator who enjoys telling stories," he said. The colorful barnyard scenes in the Tractor Mac books contain some hidden secrets. On almost every page, Steers hid the name of his wife,

Julie
, three sons, Trip, Wil and Nate, and other family members. In "You're a Winner, Tractor Mac," a carousel is drawn with scenes from Roxbury.

Steers said the Tractor Mac's farm is loosely based on
Maple Bank Farm
in Roxbury, where he once worked. New Milford resident
John Norcross
, who was at the signing buying the newest book for his children, said he likes the local feel of the books. "It's nice how he relates everything to the Bridgewater, New Milford, and Roxbury area in the books."

Norcross said he bought the first three books after discovering them at the Bridgewater Fair this summer. "They're easy reading books for young

kids," he said. His 9-year-old son loved the books. "He had them read in about an hour of getting them."

Tractor Mac began as stories Steers used to tell his oldest son, Trip, now 15, when he was about 2 years old. Steers began his children's book career as an illustrator for another artist. In 1994, he began trying to get "Tractor Mac Arrives at the Farm" published. Five years later, Golden Books decided to print it. "They wanted kind of a 50s kind of style, kind of a classic book style and luckily this fit right in," Steers said.

Golden Books printed the first book and "Tractor Mac Learns to Fly" before being bought by
Random House
. The new owners decided Tractor Mac competed with one of its top-selling children's characters,
Thomas
the Tank Engine, and discontinued the books.

Steers searched for a new publisher, and found the startup group Dogs in

Hats, which focuses on children's books. Dogs in Hats printed "You're a

Winner, Tractor Mac" and "Tractor Mac Builds a Barn," and reprinted the

first two in the series. Tractor Mac has more adventures in the works. Steers said two books are planned for this year, one to come out around Halloween with a fall harvest theme to it, and "Tractor Mac Saves Christmas" is planned for December. He also plans an activity and sticker book for the summer under the working title of the "Mactivity" book.

Steers said he has many more children's book ideas, including one about

a cow that does very un-cow-like things, like bungee jumping, and one

about pirate-fighting hedgehogs. He also has several Tractor Mac adventures in the pipeline. "Hopefully there'll be a lot more books in the series," he said. "I've got a lot written."